It’s More than Just Stuff Part 2

It took quite a few trips, but I managed to haul everything back to the Bronx in my mini (except for the patio furniture which I couldn’t fit). That car is a workhorse but not a very big horse. To my surprise, I didn’t have too much trouble finding room for everything. We didn’t have a whole lot to begin with plus our house was already a mashup of modern pieces and antiques.

I painted the record cabinet and two smaller cabinets that I ended up taking. The smaller cabinets got a few coats of warm grey (if you’ve seen any of my recent work, you’ll see that this is my current favorite color) and for some unknown reason, I painted the record cabinet a bright teal. A regretful choice. The mid century end tables were perfect just the way they were and now live in my dining room. Lots of the other stuff like the tattered jewelry boxes and tins, the hat box and the clock are displayed and Aunt Marian’s well-loved cast iron pans are now well-loved by me.

When I started sorting through all the rusty objects from the garage, I realized that I wanted to pay tribute to my grandfather and great grandfather and use the pieces in my work. I had a lot of rings left over from the construction of my Industrial Vessels and decided to make some small mixed media sculptures. I painted each porcelain ring either white, gold, copper or black, then paired them with the rusty objects.

I love the way the sleek, handmade rings play against the old pieces. I also like that the assemblages can be changed on a whim since they’re made up of individual parts. Initially I thought this was just a personal project but now I’m looking forward to exploring the idea further. For now, the little assemblages live all over my house. That makes me happy.